CS Booze Club.

[Jester]

Upon looking over my text messages earlier today, it all became clear. My bad.

[Victory Sabre]

Shouldn't, but I will

Paulaner Salvator Double Bock -7.9% ABV

Nicedark red color, with a frothy head. The nose is very inviting, and pleasing.

Taste : oh, my goodness! This is delicious. It's got all the good things about a bock, but it's amped up to the next level. Paulaner has really hit it out of the park with this one, and a 7.5 out of 10 fits well with it.

[Jester]

Kinda shocked you hadn't had the Salvator before, to be honest. There are a lot of European beers you really need to try, my friend.

But.....back to America!

Orange Blossom Pilsner Squared: A Florida beer some of you may have heard of, either from me or others, is Orange Blossom Pilsner. This is not OBP. This is OBP Squared. With twice the alcohol, weighing in at 11.0% ABV. (Math majors with complaints, please talk to the folks at OBP. I'm just reporting stuff here, and I didn't have anything to do with the naming.)

Deep orange in color, and opaque. Nose is subtle but citrusy with honey tones.

Wow. I am not the biggest fan of OBP, to be honest, but OBP Squared is something else. Lots of citrus and honey flavors to wrap your head around, but they're balanced and appropriate. Far more refined. This beer delivers on the promise the original OBP made. Whereas the original OBP is okay but forgettable, this one is a solid 7.0. Although, as my friend Chip and I discovered, this is far more true with the bottle version than the draft. On draft, it is very Belgiany, very sweet, and while you get the honey, you don't get the nuanced citrus that you do with the bottle.

[Victory Sabre]

21 hours of work left till vacation, so time for a new beer

Pitchfork Brewing Company Barn Door Brown.

Dark brown color, with a nice thick head. Not much of a nkse to it.

Taste: when you first sip it, it is somewhat bland, but then the flavor amps up. You get a nice aftertaste. An interesting beer, but not something I would go out of my way for. 5.5 out of 10.

If I could finish this by Wednesday night I could throw it in my trunk and return it after my trip, but I don't think I will.

[deadbody]

Jester, I am pretty active on beer advocate lurking and keep an eye on trade stuff, so I tend to hear about infection issues.

Lots of sediment plus sour nose and taste? For sure infected. They don't filter, and some bit of bacteria got in there. Too bad.

[Kitten in the box]

I just downed a pint of green beer and 2 Irish Carbombs (highly controversial drink I know) an surprised in still standing. I would have had a jäggerbomb with it but sadly I have to work tomorrow.

[Victory Sabre]

Sucky day at work, so time for a new beer.

American Sky American Sweetheart Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout 5.8 ABV

The first challenge is getting the wax off to open up the bottle. Once done it pours like motor oil -good sign I hope. It has frothy dark head. The nose is, well, chocolate, with a hint of the peanut butter.

Taste : yep, chocolate with hints of peanut butter. I wasn't sure how it would work out, well, it worked out well. If yoy like chocolate, and are in the Hudson Wisconsin area in late January, pick this up.

7.t out of 10

this is my 90th unique ber of the year, and a very good one.

[Victory Sabre]

Ah, hell with it

Belhaven Brewery Scottish Ale - 5.2% ABV
Lighter brown in color. With minimal head. Not much nose to it.

Taste : not good. It has, to me, a super sickening sweet taste to it. I am not sure that I like this beer, and do not think this is a very good Scottish Ale. 3.5 out of 10. What a sour, or sweet note to end the night.

[Jester]

this is my 90th unique ber of the year, and a very good one.

In our quest to see how many different beers we can drink in a year (a quest my friend Danny has joined, by the way), last night I consumed my 200th different beer. (No idea how many total beers it's been). So, on St. Patrick's Day, what was my choice for that 200th beer?

Negra Modelo from Mexico.

In my defense, I had many Irish (and other) beers yesterday, and all the usual suspects for Irish beer, such as Guinness, Harp, and Smithwick's, were ones I'd already put on that list.

My current pace puts me at just over 950 for the year, assuming that I keep this pace, and that I continue to be able to find new beers. Not as easy as it sounds, even with four craft beer bars on the island.

[Victory Sabre]

Congrats on beer #200. I hope to get to 120 on my trip, so 29 to add on my list.

[dalesys]

... continue to be able to find new beers...

I foresee Trout Ice Cream Beer...

[Victory Sabre]

I foresee Trout Ice Cream Beer...

I would say a resounding NO!

[Jester]

Congrats on beer #200. I hope to get to 120 on my trip, so 29 to add on my list.

I don't see you doing 29 different beers down here. I just don't. It hey, go for it.

I foresee Trout Ice Cream Beer...

I would say a resounding NO!

I love trout. I love ice cream. I love beer. But I'm with Vic on this one. It sounds awful.

But then, who knows? Someone might make a brilliant one. After all, I've had beer made with oysters, and while one of them wasn't that great (it wasn't awful either), one of them was spectacular. Hell, I'd try trout ice cream beer.

[dalesys]

This seems like a start...

[KiaKat]

Good lord. Hope you took good notes.

Would you mind terribly giving a precis of that cru and eru nomenclature? I have a vague idea of how they relate to various classifications, but it stops there.

My notes were good enough. Thank the lord for rating systems.

In 1855, for the Paris World's Fair, Napoleon wanted to highlight French wines, and asked Bordeaux to create a classification system After arguing about how to organize it, they settled on a five-tier system, termed the Bordeaux Cru Classe. With a couple exceptions, and despite wineries having split, merged, changed hands, or been absorbed, there have been no changes to the classification.

The position of wineries in each tier was based on overall price, because at that time, it was a guarantee of quality. With the exception of Chateau Haut-Brion, all the red wines come from vineyards located in the Medoc region of the Left Bank. There are a few white wines classified, but only the sweet wines of Sauturnes and Barsac.

To taste so many top wines in one go is an experience. And a great way to truly assess the diferences between a $10 bottle of plonk and a $2,000 bottle of Chateau Margaux.

First Growths (Premiers Crus)
Château Lafite, now Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac
Château Latour, Pauillac
Château Margaux, Margaux
Haut-Brion,[a] now Château Haut-Brion, Pessac, Graves
Mouton,[b] now Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac

Second Growths (Deuxièmes Crus)
Rauzan-Ségla, now Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux
Rauzan-Gassies, now Château Rauzan-Gassies, Margaux
Léoville, now
Château Léoville-Las Cases, St.-Julien
Château Léoville-Poyferré, St.-Julien
Château Léoville-Barton, St.-Julien
Vivens Durfort, now Château Durfort-Vivens, Margaux
Gruaud-Laroze, now Château Gruaud-Larose, St.-Julien
Lascombes, now Château Lascombes, Margaux
Brane, now Château Brane-Cantenac, Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)
Pichon Longueville, now
Château Pichon Longueville Baron, Pauillac (commonly known as Pichon Baron)
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac (commonly known as Pichon Lalande or Pichon Comtesse)
Ducru Beau Caillou, now Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, St.-Julien
Cos Destournel, now Château Cos d'Estournel, St.-Estèphe
Montrose, now Château Montrose, St.-Estèphe

Third Growths (Troisièmes Crus)
Kirwan, now Château Kirwan, Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)
Château d'Issan, Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)
Lagrange, Château Lagrange, St.-Julien
Langoa, now Château Langoa-Barton, St.-Julien
Giscours, now Château Giscours, Labarde-Margaux (Margaux)
St.-Exupéry, now Château Malescot St. Exupéry, Margaux
Boyd, now
Château Cantenac-Brown, Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)
Château Boyd-Cantenac, Margaux
Palmer, now Château Palmer, Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)
Lalagune, now Château La Lagune, Ludon (Haut-Medoc)
Desmirail, now Château Desmirail, Margaux
Dubignon,[c] later Château Dubignon, Margaux
Calon, now Château Calon-Ségur, St.-Estèphe
Ferrière, now Château Ferrière, Margaux
Becker, now Château Marquis d'Alesme Becker, Margaux

Fourth Growths (Quatrièmes Crus)
St.-Pierre, now Château Saint-Pierre, St.-Julien
Talbot, now Château Talbot, St.-Julien
Du-Luc, now Château Branaire-Ducru, St.-Julien
Duhart, now Château Duhart-Milon, Pauillac
Pouget-Lassale and Pouget, both now Château Pouget, Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)
Carnet, now Château La Tour Carnet, St.-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)
Rochet, now Château Lafon-Rochet, St.-Estèphe
Château de Beychevele, now Château Beychevelle, St.-Julien
Le Prieuré, now Château Prieuré-Lichine, Cantenac-Margaux (Margaux)
Marquis de Thermes, now Château Marquis de Terme, Margaux


Fifth Growths (Cinquièmes Crus)
Canet, now Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac
Batailley, now
Château Batailley, Pauillac
Château Haut-Batailley, Pauillac
Grand Puy, now Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac
Artigues Arnaud, now Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse, Pauillac
Lynch, now Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac
Lynch Moussas, now Château Lynch-Moussas, Pauillac
Dauzac, now Château Dauzac, Labarde (Margaux)
Darmailhac, now Château d'Armailhac, Pauillac
Le Tertre, now Château du Tertre, Arsac (Margaux)
Haut Bages, now Château Haut-Bages-Libéral, Pauillac
Pédesclaux, now Château Pédesclaux, Pauillac
Coutenceau, now Château Belgrave, St.-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)
Camensac, now Château de Camensac, St.-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)
Cos Labory, now Château Cos Labory, St.-Estèphe
Clerc Milon, now Château Clerc-Milon, Pauillac
Croizet-Bages, now Château Croizet Bages, Pauillac
Cantemerle,[d] now Château Cantemerle, Macau (Haut-Médoc)